OpTic Gaming Reportedly Buys Into Overwatch League, Has Also Applied for NA LCS

OpTic Gaming, for long hailed as a premium brand in Call of Duty, is reportedly on the verge of expanding into both Overwatch and League of Legends.

ESPN reports that sources close to the matter have confirmed the North American esports organization to have just finalized an investment deal with a group led by Neil Leibman, co-owner of Texas Rangers and chief executive of Summer Energy.

The total amount of funding is unknown but was used to purchase the Overwatch League slot in Houston for $20 million, which will be paid to Blizzard over time.

In addition, OpTic Gaming is said to have also applied for a spot in the North American League Championship Series (NA LCS) for the next season. Should its application be accepted by Riot Games, it will have to pay $13 million in franchising fees for a permanent slot in the region.

This is incidentally not the first time that the organization has been interested in League of Legends, having applied back in December 2014 after it tried to acquire Curse Academy. This time, however, its application has been successful in reaching the second phase of Riot Games’ process.

The highly anticipated Overwatch League is expected to launch later this year. OpTic Gaming will be the second participating team that is co-owned by Texas Rangers. Last month, board member Kenneth Hersh reportedly invested $35 million into Team EnVyUs and purchased the Overwatch League slot in Dallas.

Overwatch and League of Legends have been causing a lot of heads to turn in-between as of late. Last week, owner of the Seoul franchise in the Overwatch League was said to be surveying the market to purchase a South Korean League of Legends team.